Path of Exile dev grateful for competitors Torchlight 2, Diablo 3

Path of Exile producer and designer Chris Wilson has said rival action RPGs actually work in favour of the New Zealand indie effort.

Speaking with games.on.net, Wilson said the release of competing titles is generally positive, while big games in other genres can be a problem.

"When Diablo 3 and Torchlight 2 launched we received press coverage because we were similar. If they did like Diablo 3 they’d discuss us in a negative way, and if they didn’t like Diablo 3 they’d discuss us in a positive way. But either way we’re getting discussed, we’re getting users and numbers, which is great," he said.

"There was a big exodus of people that got sick of Diablo 3 and came over to us, which is awesome. So I’m very glad that Diablo 3 did come out and that it sold so many units because that really helped.

"But when something like Guild Wars 2 came out, people didn’t discuss Path of Exile at the same time as it because, well, it’s not really the same sort of game. But they sure played Guild Wars 2, reducing our player numbers by a little bit.

"It’s better that competitors come out, because then there’s some discussion around it rather than a somewhat-different game that people will go and play, because they’ve been waiting for years to play it."

Wilson said that Diablo 3 in particular had been great for Path of Exile, because its Auction House-oriented design gives the latter a "point of difference".

"If they’d made Diablo 3 as a remake of Diablo 2 with modern graphics, that would have been quite bad for us, because we’re targeting that type of hardcore player," he said.

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